Szymanowski composed Sonata in D minor Op. 9 in 1904, dedicating it to Bronisław Gromadzki, amateur violinist and Elisavetgrad school mate. The piece was first performed in Warsaw by two outstanding musicians, violinist Paweł Kochański and pianist Artur Rubinstein, on 3rd April 1909.
Although a juvenile work, Sonata in D minor already manifests Szymanowski's individuality, especially his melodic creativity and sensitivity to sound. The three-movement work opens with the expressive Allegro moderato. Patetico and closes with an equally powerful Allegro molto, quasi presto. At its heart, however, is the lyrical, subtly coloured Andante tranquillo e dolce, of which Tadeusz A. Zieliński wrote:
"as such it must be the greatest instrumental work of Szymanowski's early period. Only [its] unfamiliarity to musicians accounts for the fact that this wonderful 'poem' in A major did not become a famous and favourite item in violinists' repertoires".1
Nowadays Sonata in D minor clearly enjoys the fame and position of a favoured work for violin and piano, and has been played and recorded by the greatest violinists, including Zdzisław Jahnke, David Oistrach, Wanda Wiłkomirska, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Piotr Pławner and Krzysztof Bąkowski.
Kazimierz Wiłkomirski has adapted it for cello and piano.
Notes:
1 Tadeusz A. Zieliński, "Szymanowski. Liryka i ekstaza", PWM, Kraków 1997, p. 34-35.
Author: Anna Iwanicka-Nijakowska, September 2007.